Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)

Lesson Overview and Note to Teachers

My class periods are held in 100-minute block sessions every other day. The activities on the Wife of Bath take the better part of six class periods to complete. The lesson plan below outlines day one on the Wife of Bath.

Wife of Bath: Who is she again?

Before reading the Wife of Bath's Prologue Excerpt and Tale, as a class, we revisit the Wife of Bath's description in the Prologue of The Canterbury Tales. I give students time to review her description, and then I ask, "What does Chaucer tell us about the Wife of Bath?"

Students make the following observations:

The Wife of Bath is somewhat deaf.

She is talented at making cloth.

She has been married five times at the church door.

She is wealthy and well-traveled.

She has gap-teeth.

She is good natured unless she becomes offended.

She likes to chat.

She is experienced in relationships and can offer advice.

I discuss the Big Idea, "If we don't accept ourselves for who we are and where we've come from, who will?" ---Silvia Rojas

Students point out that the Wife of Bath seems to accept herself, even though her identity as a woman in medieval times strays from the norm.

Wife of Bath Prologue Excerpt and Tale

Before reading, I ask students to preread the text by reading the marginal notes and footnotes on allusions and unfamiliar vocabulary. Next, I read the text aloud to them so that we can process and discuss the complex text together. Periodically, I stop to ask questions (Discussion Questions: Wife of Bath's Tale) to check for comprehension.

As we read and discuss the text, students point out the following:

The Wife of Bath's Tale seems to fit her non-traditional view of womanhood for her time period, which Chaucer portrays in her Prologue excerpt.

She depicts a progressive woman, a woman with options, more of a contemporary woman in the 21st Century. For example, she has wisdom, wealth, and has traveled extensively.

Chaucer uses imagery and dialogue to bring the Wife of Bath's Tale to life for the reader, overturning gender roles and demonstrating that women can have power in relationships.

Would we have a different view of the Wife of Bath if we read her Prologue in its entirety?